9 Linux/Open Source Wishes

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Unlike some of the other ET folks, I’m too much of a coward to do the predictions thing. Instead I’ve decided to list the things I’d like to see happen in open source and Linux over the next year. Some of these are truly just wishes and don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of ever seeing the light of day. But still, I can dream, can’t I?

Bundled VPN Connection Wizard

– At some point one of the distro makers is going to finally get a clue and include the ability for workers to connect to their corporate networks via VPN the same way they do in Windows XP and Windows 2000. Come on Red Hat, you’re the big guy in the Linux world. Set a good example and get a VPN connection wizard included in your next release. Every Linux distro should include a similar feature.

Release of GAIM for Windows – GAIM is my favorite IM program in Linux but most Windows users have still never heard of it. There’s an early alpha release available but I’d like to see the GAIM developers put the pedal to the medal and get a 1.0 release out this year. Time to free those stuck using AOL’s client from their bondage and bring them into the freedom of open source IM.

The Elimination of Dependency Hell – We all know that Linux still isn’t close to Windows when it comes to installing programs. Sure, there’s apt if you can get a Debian based distro working and there’s Lindows for those who are willing to pay. But RPM based distros like Suse, Red Hat and others need to obliterate dependency hell. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, wants to be bothered screwing around with dependencies when installing Linux software. Get a clue Linux developers and fix it!

Easy-to-use GUI Installer for Debian – I know this is in the works but I want to see it this year, completely finished and ready to go. There are TONS of users out there that would benefit from Debian but it simply has to be far easier to install and configure. Hats off to the Debian folks if they can pull this off before the end of 2003.

The Ability to Play Every Windows Game Ever Created! – Well this will never happen. But wouldn’t it be great to just stick a Windows game CD in and have it work in Linux? All with no problems, no headaches, no configuration or driver issues? Wait a minute, come to think of it – we can’t even do this under Windows itself. Never mind.

More Linux Games! – Since I can’t have that wish, I’d like to see the gaming companies include a native Linux version in every box. No more releasing the Windows version first and then  maybe  releasing a Linux version 6 months or a year later. Come on game developers, figure out a way to make it happen for us! We’ve got the cash, do you have the games for us to buy? Are you listening Bioware? I’m still waiting for the Linux client for Neverwinter Nights. Might as well rename the game to NeverGonnaSeeALinuxClient Nights instead.

Better 3D/Multimedia Support in Linux – All Linux distros should have multimedia support and automatic configuration of 3D cards right out of the box. No more editing stupid config files or doing separate downloads. Pack it all in and make it easy for users to watch streaming video, play games and listen to audio on EVERY Linux distribution.

A FrontPage Clone for Linux – Linux is in dire need of a good WYSIWYG program like FrontPage. FP, for all its faults, makes it very simple to manage a small site. For those who can’t or won’t be bothered hand coding HTML, FP is a good option. So where is the open source alternative? Why have we gone this long without a FrontPage clone? Linux sure could use one, minus all the Microsoft baggage like activation, proprietary code, extensions, etc. There has to be some developers out there somewhere willing to take on this challenge.

The Complete Destruction of the KDE Desktop! – Well no, not really. But I sure would like for Gnome to take over the top slot as the most widely used Linux desktop. I don’t have anything against KDE per se, I just hate it and want it to go away. We’re a long way from that at the tail end of 2002 but you never know. Perhaps there will be a mass migration away from KDE and over to Gnome. Long live Gnome! Gnome uber alles! Down with KDE!

I doubt we’ll see any of these in 2003. But there’s nothing wrong with wishing for them. Sometimes the longest journeys start with a single wish. Or something like that.

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